Echidna is one of the most mysterious animals you can meet. Muzzle of echidna – a tube, on the legs long claws, the body of echidna is covered with short hard thorns, like a hedgehog or porcupine. The strangest fact is that this animal is able to lay eggs. Therefore, echidna, like the platypus, are called birdies.
The basis of this mammal’s food is ants and insects, which the animal collects by digging the earth. Muzzle of echidna narrow and elongated, in the form of a tube. Her legs are short, with long curled nails. Of course – to dig up the earth, she will need powerful leg muscles.
Her tongue is long and sticky, able to stretch far to catch an insect. Living in New Guinea echidna, can reach a length of eighty centimeters, but the Australian – the size of a little smaller.
When the animal has a period of feeding, a bag opens on his stomach and opens back. No one can say for certain how the eggs get into this bag. But, apparently, when the female lays eggs, she folds so that the eggs go straight to this bag.
A female echidna hatches eggs until the young ones hatch, which live in a sack, until they become very cramped. Then the female, going on a hunt, leaves them in a hole or somewhere in a secluded place.
If there is a danger – echidna immediately buries into the ground right on the spot, and the enemy sees in front of her only her sharp needles. To fully dig into the ground, echidna need only a few minutes!
